Maidstone’s Past (Maidstone West Train Station)

This is a 12.5 mile circular walk that starts at Maidstone West train station, circumnavigating the greater Maidstone area in an anticlockwise direction covering lots of the area's history.

Maidstone and the immediate surrounding area is steeped in history. From an ancestor of George Washington buried in All Saints church yard to the peasants revolt and subsequent hangings on Penenden Heath, to the original location of Reed paper mill (Tovil) and the 13 historic watermills that utilised the Loose Valley. Mote Park, originally a Royal Deer park is on the list as well as more modern wonders like Vinters Park nature reserve and Whatman Park opened in 2000 and a lovely walk along the river Medway back to our start, plus many more delights. 
This walk is a mixture of urban, rural, park land, residential, a little farm land and everything between. We will finish the walk just over the road from Maidstone West train station at a great little micro brewery, The Cellars Alehouse for a well deserved pint or you can go straight to the station. 
 

There are toilets at the beginning/end of the walk (Maidstone West train station), at Mote Park and Penenden Heath, we will have 3 short stops (10-20 minutes each) that includes the Cafe at Mote Park although this is always very busy with food taking 20-30 minutes at times so packed lunch is advised as we will not have time if there are queues, please bear this in mind. Please eat as and when you are hungry.